Image: IBM At the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, scientists have begun testing IBM’s TrueNorth computer chip—a brain-inspired mega chip IBM deems “the largest neurosynaptic chip” to date. IBM’s TrueNorth is the first of its kind. A collaboration between IBM and Cornell University via the DARPA SyNAPSE Program, which was granted $100 million in public funding, the idea for the chip was conceived in 2004. While traditional computing chips have what’s called Von Neumann architecture, relying on separate memory and processors, TrueNorth’s structure is an example of neuromorphic computing, which is designed to mimic the human brain. SEE: IBM’s brain-like chip and the quest for a ‘cognitive planet’ Each chip is powerful, with 1 million neurons and 256 million synapses, and they are assembled on boards with 16 chips, creating systems…